James Bond collisions and more

On Tuesday, Amazon MGM Studios announced that producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman would produce the upcoming James Bond film of the company. But in retrospect, the press release was perhaps just as noticeable for what it did not contain: a quote from Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke. Instead, the head of Film Courtenay Valenti who announced the deal was.

Hollywood may have been shocked, but not moved by this week’s news that Salke was left at Amazon after seven years – and how James Bond might be one of the issues that led to her departure. Speaking about the departure of Salke in the midst of a power struggle with Mike Hopkins, the head of Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios, had been swirls for a while – and the deal of last month that placed the Bond IP in the creative hands of Amazon was a further signal that Hopkins was on the point to make a change.

Salke en Barbara Broccoli, de oude rentmeester van de obligatie-IP, hadden niet oog in oog gezien op het lot van de franchise vanaf het moment dat Amazon MGM verwierf-inclusief dat waardevolle eigendom-voor $ 8,5 miljard in 2022. Het was Hopkins, een niet-creatieve exec die Salke’s baas is sinds het bijvoegen van Amazon in 2020, die in 2020 was in 2020, die in 2020 was, which was in 2020, who was in 2020, which was in 2020 in 2020, which was in 2020, which had become in 2020.

When Variety Recently noted, it is assumed that Broccoli told others that she did not feel inspired by working with Salke. Things came to a peak when the WSJ published an article in December about the standstill of the bond. That caused a high alert in the studio that the relationship of Salke on the film side was missing and that she did not have the creative chops to land the plane on one of the largest franchises in the history of Hollywood. (It also helped to speed up to the Amazon deal to buy the broccolis, after the negotiations started at the beginning of 2024.)

Sources said that Salke Bond wanted to make a wider, less dangerous character that could shine in TV programs and wear video games. But her desire to make 007 in a cuddly hero for Midden -America made broccoli -ruating, according to several sources. Insiders snarled that Salke’s vision on Bond suggested him as a rebellious cookie cutter spy from an NBC drama, not a serious IP that could only tackle a handful of the most appreciated directors.

Last month, Broccoli and her half-brother, Michael Wilson, finally finished over that deal, which gave Amazon control over the franchise but perhaps they also had a hint that was about to change the structure in the company.

Salke has long had the reputation to have a keen eye for creative talent. It is what held her in place for seven years as the creative leader for a technology company that is more known for free shipping than free speech.

But at Amazon it became clear that the world was not enough for Hopkins and that speculation was already in the air when he announced on Thursday in a memo that Salke would go from work to a first-look production deal.

Talent was of course seen as the weak link from Hopkins in what has been different an ever -growing list of performance since he joined the technical colossus. But if Salke couldn’t make it work with what is now seen as the most important brand to exploit in the Amazon MGM universe, then that was the last drop that was needed for Hopkins to make his move.

Diamonds may be forever, but these jobs are not – and the problem of James Bond van Salke was perhaps the ultimate turbulent for her departure, but it was not the only reason. Of course, for Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, ​​founder Jeff Bezos and the Seattle Management Team, talent is fun and Hollywood is fun. But that is not the bottom line. And although De Grillen van Hollywood means that Salke and her team spend a lot of money on swings that do not always work, Hopkins fans won in the north for growing the live sports activities of Prime Video, expanding his international reach and strengthening the subscriptions of Amazon channels. Hopkins recently scored a big win by bringing Apple TV+ to Prime Video as an add-on. For Seattle it is such sealing offers where the money is.

The relationship between Hopkins and Salke was always weak but it worked for a while because Salke has the creative goods, something that has a button suit like Hopkins, even with his earlier Stints at Sony Pictures TV, Hulu and Fox Networks Group, was missing. She took what a controversial streamer was that niche, indie-style TV struggled and struggled to recover after accusations of sexual harassment against the then head, Roy Price-en turned into a large, mainstream player who both broad procedures such as “Bosch” and sci-fi-series “and” the boys “and” boys “and” boys “and” boys “and” boys “and” and “boys” and “and” boys “and” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “boys” and “The boys” and “the boys” and “the boys” and “the boys” and “the boys” and “the boys” and “the boys” and “the boys” programmed. She also managed to navigate the personal obsession of Bezos, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power’, which with his blessing became the most expensive TV series in history (more than $ 1 billion).

“The rings of power” did fine, although whether it was worth it will be discussed forever – not that it matters, as long as Bezos is happy. It was Amazon’s next big budget to create a large worldwide universe, the ‘Citadel’ of the Russo brothers, which everyone is still talking about and what also turned the tide against Salke in the universe of Hopkins.

Considered as the second The most expensive series of all time (with a budget that was balloon because of the resorts), the idea looked great on paper: a large spy recereters (in the lead role Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden) that would then be supported by spin-offs in areas around the world. So far the mother ship has been broadcast in 2023 and it has been renewed for a season 2, while follow-up Italian (“Citadel: Diana”) and Indian (“Citadel: Honey Bunny”) editions were broadcast. But it is certainly not the pop culture phenomenon that Amazon expected, and there is no sign like or when one of those follow-ups will ever see the daylight.

During a SXSW panel organized earlier this month by MPA -Chef Charlie Rivkin, Salke appealed to the balance between taking creative risks, but being aware of budgets: “Creative conviction really rules the rules on the day, but you have to be a lot right, what another Amazon principle is,” she said. “So if you have a lot of conviction and you are wrong all the time, I don’t think we would be in our work for a long time. However, you could sometimes be wrong because you want to embrace risk.”

According to Talk around Hollywood, with the Roi Low for many large Budget Amazon projects, Hopkins had removed Greenlight Power from Salke last year. Then the recent Shakeup came with Bond.

And with that Hopkins probably thought he was ready to be the exec that the creative teams of Amazon reported MGM Studios directly to and which eliminated them and creatively eliminated. The timing is no coincidence: it only comes a few days before Cinemacon, in which Amazon MGM Studios will present for the first time on the main stage to view an example of the theatrical slate. And Hopkins wants to be that messenger.

That is why Salke is not replaced, together with the cost savings that removes a presumably well-compensated studio chef. “Streamlining” is how Hopkins threw it into the city in the city on Thursday when he called to explain the move, and how TV (under Vernon Sanders) and film (led by Courtenay Valenti) would now both report to him.

However, more change can be in the neighborhood, as Hopkins in his memo stated to Stafters: “We will take a few weeks to have thoughtful conversations with JEN’s Directs and others to complete the ideal long-term structure for the Amazon MGM Studios organization as a whole, and we will have more to share about that work soon.”

As far as the next step is for Salke, sources in the city noted that its new first-look production deal at Amazon actually sets her for a new chapter that will somewhat free her from the creative limitations associated with answers to technical bosses. And, they note that the once-communal practice of the parachute of the production agreement is nowadays quite rare, and the fact that Salke is still comfortably goes to this new role is perhaps a proof of the impact she had to make Amazon a real Hollywood player.

Hopkins gave that list in his memo: ” The Rings of Power ” Fallout ‘,’ Reacher ‘,’ Red One ‘,’ Maxton Hall ‘,’ ‘The idea of ​​you’, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith ‘,’ Saltburn ‘,’ ‘Road House’, ‘Beast games” Culpa/Tuya ‘and others public … and that list only deals with that list in the past 18 months,’ he wrote. Given her impressive track record at Amazon, sources at program suppliers say that they hope that the Exit of Salke is not an indication that creativity takes a rear seat at the streaming colos.

Salke is also praised because of her aggressive push to put more female voices and talent on the screen. “When I arrived at Amazon, I felt that we were doing well with what everyone calls the ‘Jacks’ -” Jack Ryan, “Jack” Reacher ” -we got the men,” she said during that SXSW session. “And we really felt like a female leadership team. For us it is about representing the audience. And I had the feeling that we were not really doing a good working work, an addictive destination for women … This team put together a great slate that was aimed at women, without our ‘father -TV’ leaving more content and TV in large numbers.”

As a producer, Salke continues to have the opportunity to do this – and perhaps, by leaving after a productive seven years at Amazon, that should give her a Kwantum comfort.